Resident Evil: Invalid
by RedBenchArty
Summary: A resident trying to escape Raccoon City gets further and further enveloped in the carnage.
1. September 25 Part 1

Lucy Ann awoke to the shrill wail of sirens on the street outside of her window. The numbers flashing on her clock read 4:50 am, far too early to rise for the day when her alarm was set for 6:00 sharp. She let her head drop to the pillow, hoping to fall back asleep but the noises coming from outside were too conspicuous to leave alone. Slowly, so she wouldn't wake her husband, she snuck over to the window facing the street and pulled down a single blind slat at eye level. Immediately, she let go of the blind and it snapped back in place a little too loudly. The snap combined with her sharp gasp, roused her husband who had not been fully asleep but not willing to regain full consciousness.

"What is it?"

"It's a tank."

Joining his wife by her spot near the window, will peaked out the window to confirm.

Soft scratching at the door announced the presence of Marv who had heard them moving about from downstairs. Ann went to let the dog in and picked him up, holding him tightly to her chest for comfort.

"It looks like the military sent it in... but why?"

Will tore himself away from the window and began slipping a pair of khakis over his pajama bottoms.

"I'm going over to the Turner's. Maybe they know something we missed."

Ann shivered at the prospect of being left alone. "I'm coming with you!"

"I'll only be five minutes. Stay here, understand?"

Will hurried down the stairs and unlocked the door, leaving it open behind him. He was met halfway across his lawn by Elli Spencer from next door.

"Will! I was just on my way to see you! What is going on?"

"I take it you don't know why a tank is passing through town?"

"I don't but they aren't staying. They're heading west." Elli pointed in the direction the tank had been. It was long gone but that wasn't a surprise at the rate it had been moving. "It was all alone though. No regiment or anything."

The sound of revving engines grew in volume as a SUV followed by a smaller, compact car sped down the street. It was only then Will noticed half the residents in their neighbourhood were loading up their cars with belongings. They were getting ready for travel.

The other portion of the neighbourhood looked abandoned, no cars were parked in the driveways and garage doors were left wide open.

Will and Elli glanced at each other, sharing a look of panic and confusion.

"Elli, go tell Ann to pack some clothes, food and water. Make sure she does it and then go back to your house and grab what you need. I'm going to see if anyone can tell me anything but I'll be right back. Be quick!"

Elli took off for the front door of his house and Will headed towards the family across the street. Their minivan was loaded with suitcases and bags and their pajama-clad daughter sat in the front seat, hugging a stuffed dolphin and crying softly.

"Hey there, Lulu. How are you doing?"

The girl whimpered in response and croaked out a reply "I don't want to go to grandma's house."

"Is that where you're headed? Well, nothing to cry over. I'm sure you'll have fun, alright? Can you tell me where your parents are?"

There was no need to ask as of that moment, the Turners appeared with cardboard boxes in their arms, looking frazzled. The wife didn't bother with a greeting, she quickly moved past Will to stack the box in the trunk of their van.

"Steve! Steve, tell me what is going on! Where are you going? What's happening?"

"Look, Will, we can't talk long. We all need to get out of here. They announced an evacuation this morning, around 1:00."

"Who? Who announced-"

"It was by radio, TV stations went down. The police are helping evacuate civilians downtown and they have a convoy posted on the outskirts of the city. It's serious. We need to move."

"But why!? What's going to happen?"

Steve's wife was already in the passenger seat, holding their daughter on her lap. She was impatiently calling for her husband, getting more upset the more words he wasted on Will. His reaction was to dump the contents of the box sloppily into the back seat and climb into the driver's seat.

"Steve, wait!" Will beat his fist on the door of the car, he was paid no mind as the family pulled out of the driveway and burned rubber as they sped down the street.

The sound of gunshots were distinct above the tumult and they sent warning signals to Will's brain. He had to move into action. Leaping over the hedge that separated the adjacent lawn, he rushed towards his house, calling for his wife.

"Did you hear that?" She called over the banister as he burst through the door.

"We need to go! We need to go now!"

Will grabbed a case of water from the kitchen and set it down near the front door. Marv was stuffed uncomfortably into his doggy carrier. At this moment it was a benefit of being spoiled and treated like a baby. He would be easy to travel with.

"What about Elli!?"

"We're taking her with us!" Will nodded to the luggage in Ann's arms. "Throw those bags in the car and grab all the canned food you can carry. I'm going to go get her!"

There were two bulging bags lying on the front steps of Eli's porch but she wasn't standing there along with them. Will charged through Elli's open door, sweat pouring from his forehead from exertion and terror. Manners were long forgotten in a state of chaos.

"Elli! Where are you?"

There was an eerie silence that filled her house, though there was turmoil beginning to form outside. The lack of any movement or sound was an indication she wasn't in the house and it made Will's blood run cold.

"Elli!" He screamed.

Through a window pane from the living room, Will caught sight of her tousled brown hair. The sloppy bun it was in bobbed along slowly, as if the body it were attached to had a limp. The thought of her injured sent chills down his neck. Will rushed back out the front door to meet her.

Elli lumbered from her shed in the back, heaving a large red container.

"I thought we might need this."

Relief swept through Will and he swiftly took the gas can from her with one of his hands and put his other to the small of her back, pushing her along as they ran for his car.

Will took his seat and jammed his keys in the ignition and turned it on so quickly it could have snapped off inside. As he backed out of their driveway, he tried to keep his voice level as he explained the situation best he could.

"I don't know what's going to happen but Steve was in such a rush to leave, he wouldn't even stop to tell me anything."

They were zooming down the street at an increasingly fast pace, hardly swerving to avoid any parked cars that were leftover from the retreating residents.

Ann and Ellie had been incredibly tolerable about the entire situation. He hoped to avoid downtown by taking side streets but if he couldn't, he'd do what it took to get the four of them out of the city.

"Turn on your radio, maybe there's an announcement."

It was the wrong move on his behalf to take his eyes off the road for a moment but even if he hadn't, they couldn't have prevented the car that was erratically zipping down the sidewalk to t-bone into them. The sound of the two cars crushing together was unmistakable.

It took a few moments for the revelation to set in.

When Will opened his eyes, he had white spots in his vision and he noticed the unnatural bend in one of his thumbs. It had been broken and bent upwards from the position it was in on the steering wheel. Bone was protruding, making the tip of his thumb take on the appearance of a piece of rubber rather than actual flesh. It was difficult to tear his gaze off it but there were others in the car besides him.

"Ann! Ann, are you alright!?"

The moan was proof she was alive and he turned to check on their neighbour in the back seat.

"I'm okay." Elli said quietly.

Steam rolled off the hoods of the cars. It looked as if the two vehicles had melded together in the ugliest fashion. Their front was crushed beyond repair.

A passenger from the second car stumbled out of the busted front door, landing on their hands and knees.

"Shit!"

Will got out to help the man onto his legs and that's when they saw the face of their perpetrator. He was covered in blood, his face was completely red from hairline to beyond his neck. He was missing teeth and he had a gash so deep in his left shoulder they could see the pale bone and tender muscle. His lips parted as if to speak but only blood came fourth, staining his clothes a deep red even more so.

Will recoiled, dropping the man in horror. The man was clearly at risk of dying but he was too afraid to even consider helping him. A little boy, no older than six, tumbled out of the opposite side with a softer plop that went unheard by Will. He landed in the most awkward position that seemed like no one could endure no matter what their flexibility. Ann had seen it and let loose a sharp scream and scrambled out of the car to go and help the child.

Just as she reached out her arms to help the boy up, he quickly turned his face and sunk his teeth into her forearm. Her eyes widened and blood drained from her face in an instant.

"ANN!"

"D-don't.." The man moaned from his place in front of Will. Every syllable he uttered came with a spittle of blood and saliva. "I-inf-infected.."

Will disregarded the man completely, running to help his wife. The child had an undeniably strong hold on her with his jaws. Will's first instinct was to just pull the little boy off his wife but as he took hold and yanked, his wife shrieks got even louder. "My arm! You're ripping my arm!"

His teeth were sunken so deeply and securely into her wrist that he was tearing into the skin and pulling out muscle tissue with each wrench.

Pulling the child only resulted in pulling her arm and more along with him so Will resolved to prying his mouth apart with his hands to gain release. The boy turned on him the moment he was freed from Ann. He was forced backwards by the boy, trying to fend him off as Ann clasped her bleeding arm.

Elli sat in the car, wide eyed and in shock, watching the events unfold through the windshield like a wide screen movie. She was shaken from her reverie by the huffing of Marv, swindled in the carrier on the floor. She went to move but was delayed as she wildly looked around the car for something to help with.

Meanwhile, the man who had fallen out of the car first had crawled towards Will and clung to his leg, hands moving fretfully to grip him as they kept slipping from the blood. His nails dug into skin and he held tight causing Will to kick out at him. He was able to free his leg at the cost of a couple long scratches left from the man's fingernails.

"Elli! Help us!"

The car was littered with soft piles of clothing and flimsy plastic water bottles. Elli had to dig through one of the backpacks to produce what she thought might be useful. The boy was snapping at Will like an animal and dread filled her when she thought about what she was about to do.

She didn't have to smack the child with a can of peas after all as a woman came barging towards them armed with a shovel. She swung back with every inch of strength she could muster and knocked the child clear off of Will. He hit the ground a few feet away and rolled for another. At first his body laid there, still as a rock. But then one of his fingers twitched.

The unknown woman bounded towards him and swiftly kicked at his head.

"NO!" Ann screamed. "He's just a kid!"

The woman quickly turned on Ann, viciously sneering at her.

"You've been bitten!" The woman cried. She raised her shovel again but before she could bring it down on Ann, Will tacked the unknown woman to the ground. He let loose a cry when he felt his thumb make contact with her body.

"Are you insane!?"

"She's going to turn! I have to kill her!"

It seemed like ramblings of a lunatic. The sound of ample gunfire shifted their attention for a moment but it was just enough for the woman to throw Will off her and grab the shovel once more.

"STOP!"

In no time at all, she drove the head of the shovel into Ann's neck and pushed it down with her foot making it sink into the flesh. Ann sputtered and flung her limbs to shake her off to no avail.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Will roared, leaping at Ann's attacker. The force he used to knock her off his wife backfired and added to the strength she was using to press the shovel down.

The blade sunk into her neck and split the vertebrae with a sickening crunch.

With a cry, Elli smashed the can upon the woman's head. It wasn't effective enough to knock her out but it stunned her for a mere second. Will took the opportunity and forcibly snatched the shovel then rammed the handle against her face and this time she fell unconscious.

Four bodies littered the pavement. The woman, the boy, the man- who had died sometime while Will had been fighting, and Lucy Ann.

Her head was just barely attached to her body by a stand of skin. Will quickly turned away with tears in his eyes and violently vomited on the spot.

In the distance, more gunshots and crashing could be heard.

Elli let the can fall from her grip and sunk to her knees with shattered nerves.


	2. September 25 Part 2

Will had been crying and vomiting in unison without pause. When he bent over and retched once more, Elli felt her own stomach churn.

Contrary to Will, Elli hadn't looked at Ann's body since the struggle with the woman. A pool of blood had spread around her corpse, soaking her nightclothes and trailing off into the cracks of the sidewalk. It was more blood than either of them had ever seen and it was gruesome and surreal.

The heaving noises stopped after another minute. They were replaced with little sniffles- tears continued to roll down Will's face as he draped his sweater over Ann.

He turned to the unconscious woman lying on the ground and stomped on her head making Elli avert her eyes.

After a moment's pause, he bent down to check the pulse of the man from the car. Nothing.

"We should go." Will said quietly, rubbing his face. "The car is wrecked but we can grab some stuff and go by foot until we find another mode of transportation. We still need to get out of the city or at least find someone to help us."

"Maybe we should try and reach the R.P.D downtown."

"They might be our best bet at this point." He heaved a sigh and his shoulders slumped. "I should have tried to go there in the first place, this wouldn't have happened."

There was an awkward pause where neither of them knew what to say to further the conversation. Elli glared down at her shaking hands. She desperately wanted to say something but what did you say to someone in this situation? She held her tongue when Will met her eyes and nodded in the direction beside them.

Avoiding the bodies on the ground, they headed for the car. She quickly slipped on the bomber jacket from her bag then reached into the backseat for Marv's carrier and dragged it out, cautious of the squirming pup inside of it. Turning the carrier so that it was around her back and not her front, the straps were clicked into place around her torso.

She waited for Will to load some food and water into a backpack and then they started off, along the road.

"Shouldn't we go through the side streets to avoid any...?"

"No. It will take us longer to reach the station if we derail."

The walk was in silence, with the two of them constantly peeking over their shoulders and scoping the area ahead in paranoia.

The eeriest part was that it looked like a normal night in the residential area of Raccoon City. Mostly, the grounds were scattered with newspapers and a few empty beer bottles.

The illusion was ruined once they noticed a couple of shotgun shells lying near a sewer.

They walked past a flurry of car crashes. Two of the vehicles still contained lifeless passengers. A woman's head lie in a pool of blood on the dashboard, the crack in the windshield told them precisely what happened.

At the sight of a minivan trapped by the surrounding vehicles, Will blanched noticeably.

"That's Steve's!"

The back windows were busted and there were severe-looking dents and scrapes but the headlights were still on and the tires unscathed.

Hopping over the hood of a hummer, Will peeked inside the minivan for the keys. They were still in the ignition though Steve was nowhere to be seen and neither was his wife.

The figure that lay in the back seat made Will freeze.

"Elli, don't come any closer."

"W-where are they...?" Elli said, peering into the car over Will's side.

"I said don't look!" He roared but it was in vain. Elli already saw the limp body of the little girl, impaled upon a sharp piece of shrapnel. Feeling hazed, she wondered where the stick of metal had come from if the car weren't smashed.

Then she was roughly jerked away by the waist. Her mind was so far away, she barely heard Will shouting at her.

"STOP! BOTH OF YOU PUT YOUR HANDS UP!" A voice yelled.

Elli and Will startled. He released the death grip he had on her and turned slowly to face the new voice. The pair looked on warily, both fearful since their previous encounter.

The boy shook from head to toe, pale as a ghost. There was an insignia for the Raccoon City High school on his blazer but the fearful expression he had on made him look years younger.

He held a hunting rifle, shakily alternating his aim between the two of them.

"...That car still work?" He finally asked.

Elli nodded slowly. The action made the man whip his gun in her direction once more.

"You! Do either of you have any bites!?"

"Bites? Bites from wh-" Elli paused, remembering the little boy who had taken a chunk from Ann's arm earlier. "No.."

"I think you'd better start explaining the situation to us." Will commanded, softly.

"Well _I_ don't know how it started. I have a friend who works at a bar downtown. Got a call from him and he said people were mutilating...no, _eating_ each other. 'Said that's how the infection spreads, through a bite. Maybe it's in the saliva or something, I don't know much but if you're bitten, you'll become one of them! A... a crazy-ass zombie! "

"Infection-This is some kind of disease? That's insane!"

"That's what I thought. I saw it happen though." His voice quivered, on the verge of hysteria. "On a TV channel, before the stations went down, I saw it." The man inched closer to the car.

"Wait! We still don't understand how this is happening!" Elli began.

"I don't know any more than what I already told you!"

He sent them a final withering look before hopping into the driver's seat and setting his gun in the passenger's seat.

Will nudged her lightly and began walking.

The boy called out after closing the door, "If you're planning on heading downtown, you won't come back. The police can't help you. You'll die."

Will ignored him and continued walking past. The two didn't get far before they heard the screeching sound of metal being scraped along pavement. Steve's car was slamming back and forth into the cars blocking it in. The man took a chance upon the first gap he had made and plowed through it, speeding off in the other direction with a broken bumper trailing along.

Out of the corner of her eye, Elli saw something jolt towards them.

"Oh my god.."

It was impossible, it was unbelievable- the sight of the man from the car accident earlier. He had wounds that he shouldn't have lived through yet he was ambling towards them, moaning with each step that brought him closer.

"How is this possible!?" Elli's heart raced in her chest.

Will had checked his pulse, there was no heartbeat- he was **dead.**

Grabbing her arm and pulling, Will staggered backwards, unable to look away from the sight.

"Holy shit, Elli, Move! We can outrun him!"

Will and Elli took off, looking over their shoulders with every intake of breath.

They hit Elm street and stopped in their tracks. Beyond the traffic lights was a scene like something from a nightmare.

Creatureswere packed together, stumbling along the street in droves. There were so many of them it was hard to believe there were this many people residing in Raccoon city when they were alive.

An involuntary shout escaped Elli and Will turned to look at her sharply but it was too late.

The dead turned to face the pair in one fluid movement.

"Run!" Will hollered this time. He sped off down the intersection, not stopping to wait for her. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she chased after him. Her feet hit the ground hard with every step, bouncing the carrier upon her back.

In a terrifying moment of realization Elli felt Marv slip from his carrier and heard the plop as he hit the ground. In the frantic rush, her momentum carried her a few feet further before she could turn around.

She let out a choked sob upon the sight.

Marv stood with his hackles raised, barking as the hoard approached him, spurred on by the noises he emitted.

"Grab him, Elli!" Will screamed. He didn't move from his place ahead of her but fidgeted anxiously as if he were internally debating whether to flee or help. She was already running back towards the frightened dog.

Just as she reached out and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, she could feel a cool breath touch her skin.

Before teeth could sink into her, a bullet shot clear through the side of the zombie's head and he toppled over.

Bullets rained down upon the rest of the hoard, dropping them like flies. Their number was diminishing before them.

Once the last one was shot, footsteps rushed to greet the duo. Three men and one woman dressed in military garb surrounded them. The one that shot the zombie about to prey on Elli and Marv stepped forwards and extended his hand to her. She accepted the help and stood on wobbling legs just as Will came to stand beside her.

A burly man suddenly lifted his gun and they heard the click as safety was removed.

"What happened to your thumb? You get bit?" He had his gun trained on Will.

"No, I didn't get bit." He snapped. "We got into an accident, I broke my thumb and my wife was killed by a fucking lunatic! Oh! And a dead guy got up off the ground! What the fuck is going on?"

"Please, can you help us get out of the city? We were heading for the R.P.D but-"

"Negative." The man cut Elli off, holding up a hand to silence her. "There are more civilians trapped downtown. We're heading there ourselves to answer a distress call."

The woman stepped up after casually reloading her gun. "You'll have to come with us. We can get everyone out of here altogether."

Will gawked in disbelief. "No! We need to get out of this fucking town!"

A firm hand clasped his shoulder. "Listen, pal." The solider and Will glared at each other. "What's happening to this city... It's really messed up. I know you want to leave as soon as possible but you'll be safer with us. We can protect you." Satisfied that Will no longer held a threatening gaze he continued, "Once we round up the civilians trapped downtown, we can _all_ get out of this nightmare."

Will sighed in defeat and studied them closely. "Who are you?"

The man nodded and made eye contact with the rest of the team before extending his hand politely. "First Lieutenant George Slater. This is my team."

Each one saluted in accordance to their name.

"Vaughn Lou- but you can call me Vaughn. Or Lou."

He was trying to lighten up the atmosphere to Elli's relief but Will only crinkled his eyebrows at the solider.

"Jose."

"Grace."

Will stayed silent, meeting each of their gazes coolly. Elli spoke up during his silence.

"I'm Elli and this is Will."

"And what the hell is that thing?" Vaughn asked, pointing to the bundle of fur in Elli's arms.

"A Jack Russell." She mumbled pitifully.

Marv's ears were folded back into his head but he wagged his stubby little tail the second a gloved hand came forth to stroke down his back. Vaughn managed a half-smile then peered up at Elli, cocking an eyebrow.

"You almost died because of it?"

The realization seemed to hit Will and he asked Elli to switch with him, handing over his knapsack and possessively taking Marv from her arms. There was a hard look in Slater's eyes during the exchange. Motioning Will to follow him, the two men steadily walked ahead, side by side.

"Are you two related? Daughter, maybe?"

"No, she's not my _daughter_. She's just the kid from next door." Will replied in a hushed tone.

Elli watched on with distain. She wondered why Will was suddenly so guarded with the soldiers.

Hissing abruptly, Vaughn slipped a hand into his fanny pack, pulling out a roll of gauze. "We should patch up his hand, Slater. There's nothing else we can do about it until we get professional medical help but at least it won't be exposed." The three men fell behind, pausing to inspect the injury.

As the group marched along the streets, Elli turned to the man on her left and asked softly,

"What's happening?"

When she got no reply, Will tore his arm away from Vaughn and stomped up between Jose and Elli.

"Hey, you need to start giving us answers! Where are the rest of you?" Will added, heatedly. "Why aren't the police helping us evacuate?"

Slater sighed in aggravation. After a moment's pause, he began to explain.

"We were ordered not to enter the city. The U.S. Military is posted all along the outskirts, blocking off any entry into the city. The only help you'll get is from the R.D.P but they're stationed too sparsely, making it near damn impossible to get to everyone in time."

"In time..?"

The man brushed off Will and continued, "I guess you could say we went AWOL. We were getting calls all around the city of people being trapped in their homes, families baring into each other.. I couldn't stand just sitting on my ass so I gathered a few of our units in hopes of saving a few."

"It was disarray once we got through the suburbs!" Grace spat. "Cars kept crashing into us, crazed civilians were crawling all over the tank, trying to force their way in. We couldn't move through them and they eventually flipped us over."

"There were five of us. Our second lieutenant got swarmed as we were getting away."

"And the evacuation notice? Is that because of this infection that's spreading around? Why weren't we informed sooner? I never heard anything about it! Why the fuck-"

"Will, calm down!"

Will turned on her and hit her in the face so hard she stumbled backwards. Elli touched her cheek with her cool hand, feeling the burn against her fingertips.

Four guns clicked into place, all pointed at Will.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He said through gritted teeth. "I didn't mean to hurt her." The apology sounded forced but Elli nodded anyways, letting everyone know it was OK.

"We've just been through... some heavy things. I understand." She said.

"Sure. _We've_ had it rough."

Elli flinched at the implication.

He threw an accusing leer at the four military troops before harshly brushing past Slater, bumping into him.

"You okay?" Slater asked, putting a comforting hand on Elli's back.

The entire night felt like a bad dream. Too many things happened in just a few hours to be real. But as Elli pinched herself, she only felt a twinge of pain and knew this was truly happening.

"No." She said, forcing tears back. "Not really."


End file.
